Seven months ago the organizers of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics released their logo for the games, but had to quickly revamp it as they were accused of plagiarism. Kenjiro Sano, the original designer, was accused of plagiarizing the emblem of a Belgian playhouse; Sano maintains his work is original, but the committee was forced to get a new design and designer. On April 25th, the committee released the new logo.
The “Harmonized chequered emblem” logo is based on “ichimatsu moyo” design from Japan’s Edo era (1603-1868), a period of shogunate rule and isolationist foreign policy. The designer, Asao Tokolo, composed three varieties of rectangular shapes to represent different countries, cultures and ways of thinking. He also sought to have the design promote diversity as a platform to connect the world as the Olympics do.
This logo is not the only set back Tokyo has had in the way of the Olympics. The costs associated with the Olympic Stadium have grown to be more expensive than original estimates. The original estimate for the futuristic design by the late British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, was 163 billion yen, which was quickly abandoned when the price escalated to 252 billion yen ($2.3 Billion). The new design, estimated to cost 149 billion yen, will be designed by Kengo Kuma and is slated to be completed by November 2019.
